


Smoke On The Water

by Miah_Arthur



Series: Closer Than Yesterday [2]
Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, Reconciliation, Recovery, Trouble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-08
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-02-07 22:36:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1916520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miah_Arthur/pseuds/Miah_Arthur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathan and Audrey finally re-enter Duke's life after the events of <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/1225387/chapters/2510737">"It's Your Destiny, Son"</a>, but rebuilding relationships in Haven is never Trouble-free.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This really won't make sense without reading the series in order. 
> 
> This is an AU in content after mid-season 2. It is also an expanded timeline AU where Audrey arrived in 2009, and will leave in 2011. This series began in late spring of 2010.
> 
>  **Huge THANKS to Roseveare11 for beta reading this story.** Seriously, she should get a beta reader medal for taking on the mess that was this fic. Without her the only way it ever would have seen the light of day would have been me printing it out to set it on fire.

 

# Smoke on the Water

 

 _Duke pulled against the restraints, but couldn't budge them. This was wrong. He wasn't supposed to be the one on the table. He was… Watching himself walking in with the Rev. Taking the knife. The other Duke cut him—a line across the chest. It burned. Blood seeped out, trailing down his ribs. His heart pounded. The other Duke smiled and rubbed across the wound, pulling it further open. His eyes turned silver. “Kill him,” the Rev said. The other him raised the knife and plunged it into Duke's chest. His heart thudded, louder and louder_...

And became pounding on the metal hatch of his stateroom. His heart was racing, and his hands were scrabbling at his chest where the knife had been. He clenched his fists to still his hands, and took a couple of deep breaths. The pounding on his door got even louder. He rolled out of bed, grabbed the bag hanging by the bed, and picked up his shotgun. 

“ _Duke_?” It was Audrey, and she sounded like she was starting to contemplate methods of breaking through his bulkheads if he didn't answer soon.

"I'm up. I'm up! Give me a minute!" Duke yelled from the galley. The pounding stopped for the moment. Duke used the reprieve to yank the tubing out, almost gagging himself in his rush to get free of the half full bag and hide it in the fridge. 

"Okay, I'm unlocking the door now," he said loudly. He leaned around the corner to release the lock, keeping the shotgun ready, as they pushed the door open. A blast of cool, damp air hit him in the face.

Nathan stepped over the lip of the hatch. He was fully inside before the gun pointed at him finally registered on his expression, and he pulled up short. “Put that away, Duke,” he snapped.

“Really? I haven’t seen you in two months and that’s the tone I get?” Duke said, but he leaned the gun in the corner underneath the ladder and waved them on inside. The stench of smoke swirled around him as they squeezed past in the narrow corridor. “You two do realize that you stink, right?”

Nathan gave him a tired glare that flared into something else. Duke couldn't pin a label on it, but followed Nathan's gaze down to his chest, still bare from sleeping. He'd left small scratches, but none of them were bleeding, so he shrugged and motioned them on into the main room. He shut the door, blocking the breeze and muting the sound of waves lapping at the dock and boat.

Audrey was ahead of them in the galley. “Do you have water, Duke?”

She was reaching for the fridge. Duke darted past her and opened the door enough that he could get a bottle of water, keeping the interior of the fridge blocked from view. She gave him a funny look as she took the bottle from him.

“Trust me, you don’t want to see the stuff growing on those leftovers from last week,” he said, adding his best charming smile.

She looked at his smile and seemed to relax. Relieved, he stepped away from the fridge. Audrey walked past Nathan, who was leaning against the bar, and sat on one of the long benches. 

"Give me a minute to get a shirt on," Duke said, shivering. Audrey and Nathan were dressed in light jackets, which was sensible enough for early fall. Audrey removed hers as Duke pulled on a shirt and heavy sweater. 

Duke yawned and rubbed his eyes. “As much as I am glad to see you guys again, I’m sure you aren’t here at three in the morning just to get bottled water. What do you need?”

“Forest fire. All kinds of Troubled living in the woods are being forced toward town,” Nathan said as if that explained everything. 

“...And you need me because?” 

“We think we've got the spiders under control.” Audrey shuddered. “But we found a body near the webbing.”

“Had Adriana Gulf’s ID. Name ring any bells?” Nathan straightened up and walked closer, looming into Duke’s personal space. Duke took a step back, and Nathan jerked away to a less threatening posture.

“Ummm.” Duke waved a hand around nervously. “She _wasn't_ part of that case that never happened?" He froze. "Wait. Spiders?" An image of millions of spiders swarming over everything crossed his mind and he shuddered. 

Audrey nodded in shared revulsion at creepy crawlies, before she said, “Now, we’re not so sure. The body was in bad shape, but there were definitely some marks that look like stab wounds from a knife.”

The thought of swarming spiders was pushed out by _Don't drop the knife_! Duke shook his head and wrapped his arms around himself. “So you come knocking on my door in the middle of the night to what? Accuse me of killing this woman?” He stomped to the other side of the room. He scrubbed at his face with his hands, trying to get the images out of his mind. “I-I don’t remember killing anyone. Do you have a picture of her?”

“I do, actually,” Audrey said as she pulled a photo from the file. “But we didn't come here to accuse you. Nathan has to go back to coordinate with the out-of-town firefighters, and keep an eye on whatever else the fire pushes out of the woods.”

Dwight had shown him photos of the people rescued. Seeing them triggered _memories_. Duke swallowed the taste of acid creeping up his throat and took the picture without looking at it. He sat on the bench furthest from Nathan and Audrey, took a deep breath, and finally looked at the picture. He had never seen the woman in the photo. 

The breath he'd been holding huffed out. Audrey might not be accusing him, but they had still wanted to see his reaction. He couldn't quite make himself look at Nathan and Audrey to find out what they had seen. “I don’t know her. So if it isn't about her, why are you here?”

“To ask you to help out. There could be other Troubles being triggered tomorrow with the fire getting close to town, and I need back-up.” Audrey sounded like she thought she was being very reasonable. Maybe even charitable in giving him a chance to help. 

It reminded him an awful lot of how she had sounded when she asked him to help on the Harry Nix case. He looked at Nathan. “This isn't like Harry Nix is it?”

Audrey spluttered. “No!”

Duke wished he could trust her, but...yeah, he was waiting for Nathan’s answer.

“I don’t think so,” Nathan said slowly. “We don’t have any particular Trouble in mind. I— _we_ —missed your annoying visits to the station. This justifies calling you in.”

“You could have just led with that.” Duke tried to meet Nathan’s gaze, but Nathan wouldn't look at him. He gave it up and turned to Audrey. “I have plans this afternoon. Seriously. It doesn't matter if we’re fighting a tentacle slime monster, at 3:45 I’m gone.” That was early, but this was too important to risk being late.

Audrey’s eyebrows raised. “Have a hot date?”

Duke smirked. “There is definitely a beautiful lady involved.” He yawned again. “So do we really have to start so early?”

“Let me guess... You just went to bed?” For Nathan there was a surprising amount of emotion behind that jab. 

“Actually…” Duke let it trail off with a suggestive grin. Nathan huffed and turned away. _Damn_. Duke frowned. It couldn't be that Nathan actually cared whether his suggestion of sex was true or not. Could it? 

“I was hoping you could drive. I've been up since five yesterday morning.” Audrey’s gaze raked over him, lingering over his chest. “You don’t look much better rested, though.”

“Why don’t you just sleep for a while?” Duke asked, but he was starting a pot of coffee at the same time. Neither of them said anything. He sighed and said, “I’ll be fine with coffee and a shower.”

“Share the coffee, and we’re good.” Audrey smiled. It almost looked as innocent as her smiles the first few months she had been in town. 

This time his grin wasn't just a calculated move. He’d been listening to the police scanner more often the last few days, hoping for a solid opportunity to involve himself with a case. Of course, they would choose to show up on Friday morning hours before sunrise, but it was an opening. If there was one thing he knew how to do it was taking the inch he was given and pushing it to a mile. 

He took a quick shower, and got dressed. Then he put his medications into a small case and slipped it into his pocket. He’d take them at eight. He yawned again. Coffee. Coffee sounded good right about now. He grabbed a handful of latex gloves and stuffed them into his pockets. Paranoid? Maybe, but he wasn't leaving the ship without them.

He stepped into the galley to find Nathan seated at the table, one hand curled around a cup of coffee, and Audrey curled up under his other arm, snoring lightly. Nathan shook his head. Duke was quiet as possible getting his coffee, and slid onto the bench across from the two of them. 

He took a few sips of the coffee while Nathan stared at him. Duke looked at Audrey, who was still snoring. He wondered idly how long Nathan could go without sleep, since he wouldn't feel the normal signals. _Focus, Duke_. “What’s really going on?” 

“We think there might be a Trouble that can cause animals to increase in size.” Nathan sipped his coffee, and generally looked uncomfortable with the conversation. 

“And just so we are extremely clear. You are not here because you think there is some possibility that you will want to use my family curse? Because it isn't happening, and I could just go back to bed and skip all the dangerous parts.” Duke ran his finger along the rim of the mug.

Nathan’s fingers closed over Duke’s. Duke looked up and met Nathan’s weirdly intense stare. “I wouldn't do that. Dwight said you were ready to be involved again. This seemed like a good excuse.”

Duke nodded. Nathan squeezed just a little too tightly to be comfortable before letting go. 

"Oh, hey, ' _increase in size_ '? What are we talking here? 1950's monster movie bugs, or _Arachnophobia_?"

"The mother was…cooked. We're dealing with hatchlings. They're—"

From outside there was a metal rending crash followed by a continuously blaring horn. Audrey startled and almost fell off the bench, but Nathan caught her. Duke was up, had grabbed his shotgun, and was out the door before they got disentangled. He jogged to the end of the dock, then slowed down to keep better watch. He passed Beattie's office and saw that a nineties model Ford pickup had plowed into a post in the parking lot. The area seemed to be clear. Accidents did happen, even in Haven.

Duke ran to the truck and yanked the door open. A man slumped over the wheel, bleeding from a scalp wound. Duke stepped back and pulled out a glove. He was putting it on, shotgun held in the crook of his elbow, when he heard quiet movement in the truck. He looked up and saw a spider the size of a cat moving over the man’s shoulders. 

He dropped the glove and yanked the shotgun up against his shoulder. The spider jumped at him, moving so fast that he had barely registered it was moving before it slammed into his chest. He staggered back a step. The spider dug it’s fangs into his thick, baggy sweater. One of the palps tangled in his hair. The other gripped his neck. He swung the shotgun at the spider, and hit it with the stock. The spider responded by digging it’s fangs in deeper. They curled in toward the spider's mouth and the blunt backs scraped across his chest.

He hit it again, and it squeezed with it’s palps, digging cable-like hairs into his neck. He yelped and staggered until his back came up against a vehicle.

“Duke! Stop moving! Put your hands down!” Audrey shouted. He dropped his arms to his sides and stopped struggling. The spider seemed to take that as a sign it had won and pulled it’s fangs loose. It’s four larger eyes were right in Duke’s face. It reared back with it’s fangs spread wide apart. Duke turned his head and managed to keep himself from shouting at Audrey to hurry the hell up.

The spider’s abdomen exploded in a shower of pale blue blood. It fell away from Duke. He shucked off his sweater, scrubbed his hands, and then his face trying to get rid of the feel of blood, even blood that couldn't trigger his Trouble. 

Audrey was only a couple feet away from him, watching him with concern. “Sorry it took so long. Wasn't sure you wouldn't move.”

He shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. Looking down at his ichor covered clothes, he gave up on keeping it off his skin for now. He looked back at Audrey. “I need another shower.” He tried to force a smile to put a joking spin on it.

She holstered her weapon and grinned at him. “Well, you’re definitely not getting in my car in those clothes.”

“He’s alive!’ Nathan called from the wrecked truck. Duke pulled another glove from his pocket and put it on before moving to see if Nathan needed any help with first aid. He heard Audrey on the phone updating the emergency call.

Audrey kicked the spider carcass under the truck Duke had been leaning against and then pulled Duke away. “Come on, they don’t need to see that gunk you're covered in.” The ambulance must not have been far away when it got the call, because the flash of their lights was already patterning the parking lot.

Nathan had crawled into the truck and was stabilizing the man’s neck. He nodded that he had the situation in hand, and Duke followed Audrey away as the ambulance stopped behind the truck. 

“So, guess you missed a spider, huh?” Duke said as they stepped onto the Rouge.

“There could be more of them, too.”

Duke paused in in the doorway. “You’re just full of happy thoughts, you know that?”

“Hurry up and get dressed, now we've got to patrol for the strays.” She gave him a little push through the door.

Duke paused for only a moment to check the impressive size of the holes the spider had torn in his sweater and shirt before shoving them into a trash bag. The clothes had saved him from getting bitten, but his chest was red where the spider's hairs had scrubbed against it, adding to the clawing he'd given himself during that last dream. Tarantulas might feel soft, but this had felt more like a steel brush. He made it a quick shower. Then he pulled on clean clothes, stuffed more gloves into his pockets, and rejoined Audrey. 

They had just stepped onto the dock, when Duke stopped and said, "Hang on, need to get something else." 

In his special storeroom, that had definitely been moved since those mind-reading, poker playing assholes had messed with it, he gathered a few things ‘just in case’ into a satchel. Audrey wasn't quite tapping her foot when he got back to the dock, but she started moving the second he was beside her.

At the end of the dock, they both readied their weapons. Duke covered the back and Audrey covered the front. He leaned his head toward her and said, “So there'll be hazard pay or something for hunting giant spiders, right?” 

“Yeah, sure. We'll pay you double what you normally get.” Audrey glanced up at him and smirked.

Duke rolled his eyes at her, but smiled when he turned back to keeping spider watch on his side. Maybe if they could ignore the gulf between them hard enough it wouldn't matter, and things could be normal again, finally. The ambulance had already left and Nathan was washing his hands at a spigot.

“You're making me cold, just watching you,” Duke said, pulling his sweater tighter around himself and earning another odd look from Audrey.

Nathan ignored Duke's comment and spoke to Audrey. “I've got the station calling everyone in early. We've got to get these things before the town gets moving in the morning. You'll coordinate that, and I'll head back up to the firefighters. Be ready in case the evacuation zone spreads.”

“Sure thing. Just—” she took his hand, and a look caught somewhere between pain from the cold water and pleasure at feeling her touch spread across Nathan's face. “Be careful. Okay?”

When she released his hand, Nathan shoved both hands into his coat pocket before guiltily checking to see if Duke had noticed the exchange. Did he really think that no one was going to notice that kind of reaction? Duke pretended to be looking for spiders. He'd let Nathan keep his 'secret' for now.  



	2. Chapter 2

Duke and Audrey had driven around for an hour with the awkward silence only broken by Duke's occasional griping. He was saying, “This is stupid. Do you know anything about the hunting habits of spiders? Because I don’t.” when Audrey shushed him.

Before he could get more than an indignant sound out, she had pointed to a large silk encased bundle on the side walk. Duke stopped the Land Rover and they both got out. He had his shotgun and satchel, and Audrey had her pistol. He hadn’t been able to convince her to take a shotgun. The subcompact Glock 26 she carried only had a magazine capacity of ten compared to the seventeen in Nathan’s full-sized model 17. They’d already proven when dealing with those copies of Cornell, the crooked banker, that running out of ammo was a bad idea.

Audrey examined the silk pod. The smell when she cut through the silk was like something that had been dead for months. Duke stepped to the other side, hoping to get upwind of it. Audrey gagged, but found a stick to poke at the nearly liquefied remains. 

“Fur. Must be a dog. The spider shouldn’t be that far away. It probably wants to stay close to it’s lunch.”

“Uh huh.” _Thank you, Audrey, for the thought that that might have been a kid_. Duke kept scanning the area for any sign of movement. These things were amazingly fast. 

“Let’s stake this out. See if we can catch it coming back.”

After a few seconds of debate, they made their stand on the porch of an empty house. That at least gave them some sense of security that the spider wouldn’t come from behind them. 

Once they had gotten quiet and still, it only took a few minutes for the spider to come back. It busily crawled over the pod, repairing the tear Audrey had made. Audrey took the shot, and pale blue spider blood splattered. Lights came on up and down the street. 

“Dwight. I need you over on Oak Street,” Audrey was saying into her phone when Duke looked back. 

She paused then said, “Yeah. Another one. Woke the whole neighborhood shooting it.”

She hung up and looked at Duke in a ‘what can you do’ sort of way. He didn’t know why he had held out hope that maybe Dwight would have gotten some sleep before their evening rendezvous.

He didn’t say anything as they waited. Real conversation on the drive had died after a few minutes of awkward exchanges in the vein of ‘So how have you been?’ ‘Oh you know, working. Keeping the Troubles under control. And you?’ ‘I’m good. The Gull keeps me pretty busy.’ Neither of them seemed willing to bring up anything deeper. No matter how much Duke wished that ignoring the problem would let them pretend to be normal, it just hung between them stifling the banter that had been their normal. 

Audrey had to send a couple of the braver neighbors back inside before Dwight arrived. Duke sat in a rocking chair in the shadowy corner of the porch, watching as Dwight disposed of the mess and helped Audrey quell the doubts of the neighbors. One of the people the Rev had had kidnapped lived on this street, and while Duke didn’t see him, he didn’t want to risk one of the neighbors or a family member he didn’t recognize knowing about it. He didn’t want to mess with their sense of safety anymore than he already had. 

The sun wasn’t visible yet, but the sky had lightened enough that the neighborhood was clearly visible when Audrey came back to the porch. “Thanks for all the help, Duke.” The reproach was clear in her voice. 

“Duke,” Dwight said with a nod in his direction. It sounded terse, but Duke had gotten to know the subtle variations in Dwight’s tone and body language the last couple of months. This was a ‘I’m exhausted, but I’ll never show it.’ with a hint of ‘Why are we both up when we have plans tonight?’ kind of terse.

He nodded back. “Dwight.” He sent back a look of ‘I’m fine.’ and ‘We’ll figure tonight out.’ 

A little of the tension left Dwight’s shoulders. He was the one that had made sure Duke knew where all those people lived, so he was well aware of where they were. Duke knew that a few weeks ago, being this close to one of his victims would have triggered a hard to escape flood of memories. He sighed. There was a thin line between staying within his safety zone for survival and hiding within it out of cowardice. He had been getting awfully close to the wrong side of that line. He was ready for this. 

Audrey was giving the two of them an odd look. Duke's roguish smile made her shake her head and he was pretty sure she didn’t at all believe it, but she let it slide. One more thing they weren’t going to talk about right now. 

“I got a call from Nathan, the fire is picking up. We’re going to have to evacuate some residents on the edge of town,” she said.

Dwight said, “I cleared a whole infestation of spiders up near that construction on Elmore street. If you could get everyone searching scrap piles—anything large enough for these things to hide in. They look like Parson’s spiders. Those go to bed during the day. We can hopefully get them mopped up in their nests before they start hunting again tonight.”

Audrey moved away to radio the other officers. Dwight leaned over the porch rail toward Duke, “You get any sleep?”

“Few hours, yeah. I’ll be fine tonight. What about you?”

“I’ll manage. You know the deadline. Don’t be late.”

“Like I’d forget. Give me a break, Squatch.”

“Do they know?”

“Know what?” Audrey asked.

“About my hot date,” Duke said loudly. He stood up and threw an arm around Dwight’s shoulders, smiling broadly.

Dwight shook his head slightly in an exasperated way, but said, “Yeah. A very pretty lady.”

Audrey opened her mouth to say something, but shook her head and let it go. “Alright Duke, we’re going to go meet Nathan.”

Duke gave Dwight’s shoulders a squeeze before pulling away. They nodded at each other, this time meaning ‘Be careful.’ and ‘I’ll see you tonight.’

Duke turned the Land Rover toward the evacuation zone. They drove in the suffocating silence for a few minutes before Audrey said, “So you and Dwight…?”

Duke glanced at her, not sure what she was asking. The expression on her face made it clear though. 

“We’re friends.” He let his voice come across as flat. Hopefully, something that would be final.

“Friends or _friends_?” Of course, Audrey wouldn’t take a hint. 

“Friends. You know, people that talk to you even when they don’t need something from you.”

“Why are you being pissy about this? It was _Dwight’s_ idea for us to stay away.” She sounded like she was hurt by what he said.

“His plan was that you two wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t have if you didn’t know what really happened. There was a time when you would have been knocking on my door the second you heard the rumor that I’d been in the hospital the whole time I was missing.”

“That’s not what happened, though, is it, Duke?” She was angry. He glanced at her and saw the scowl on her face—very angry.

_Damn_. He hadn’t meant to get into this. He pulled off onto a wide shoulder. A car loaded with worried looking people passed them heading away from the evacuation zone. The smoke seemed to follow it, and soon the sky that had just gotten to full light was dark with it.

“No. That isn’t what happened. I— They—" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Terrible things happened. I still missed my friend—the one that used to believe that a smuggler was a good person who just needed a chance to prove it.”

Audrey was quiet for a while. Three more cars passed them. “Nathan needs our help, Duke.” Her voice was tight, still angry.

He wanted to throw her out of his vehicle, turn around, and go to the Gull where he should be working. He wanted to demand that she talk about it. He bit down on those responses. “Fine,” was what finally ground out. He put the Rover back in gear and drove toward the fire, because apparently he was the idiot who drove toward fires to help people who weren’t his friends.

Audrey didn’t say a word the rest of the way. It was less than half a mile, but still, she had time to talk if she wanted to. The smoke was closer to the ground here. Seeping into the vents, and tainting everything with the scent and taste of ash. Cars were streaming out of the subdivision now, and they had to talk to Stan before they could pass the barricade to get into the neighborhood. He handed them masks to wear, and then went back to checking the names and addresses of people leaving.

They found Nathan at the back corner of the subdivision. “I don’t care, Mr. Gunnerson. Your family has to evacuate,” he said as Duke and Audrey walked into hearing range.

The house was set further from the road than most. Down a driveway, screened by trees. This house must have been here long before the subdivision went in, which meant it had an address that was different. Something about that made Duke take a closer look. All the windows were shuttered. He looked a little closer at the window closest to him, and saw that the windows had been covered with foil on the inside. They really didn’t want light getting in… He mentally smacked himself. How could he have forgotten? He shook his head. He’d been too wrapped up in his own drama.

“Audrey,” he whispered, his voice muffled slightly by the mask, “I need to lea—”

“What is _he_ doing here?” Mr. Gunnerson said angrily. Duke sighed. This was Margery Wilson’s common law husband or long-term live-in or whatever they wanted to call a twenty year unmarried relationship that had produced four children. 

Gunnerson stepped onto the porch and closed the door behind him. Of course he did. Margery Wilson and their children would catch on fire if the light hit them. No wonder the man was arguing with Nathan.

“Nathan, they _can’t_ leave the house,” Duke said. “Look at the windows.”

“Get him off my property and away from my family, or I will defend them. It’s a justified killing if you’re reasonably afraid for your life or your family’s life.”

“Not if the police are standing right here on your property, Mr. Gunnerson,” Nathan said calmly.

“Get him out of here, or cops or not, I’ll defend my family.” Gunnerson was a big man. Duke might have been able to hold his own against him before, but with the muscle loss? Not happening.

He took a few steps back with his hands up in a placating motion. “I’m sorry.” No way he was turning his back on a guy this scared and angry. 

“You should be!” He took a step toward Duke, but Nathan put his hand on Gunnerson’s shoulder, and moved to block the man’s path. Duke kept backing away steadily. “My wife is scared to leave the house, thanks to you! We used to have a life—at night. Now she has nightmares so bad she hasn’t slept more than a couple hours at a time in two months. She can’t even hug the kids. You did that to our family, you bastard!” 

Duke was out of sight of the man’s house now, and he turned and fled. There was no other term for it. He ran. He made it to the safety of the Land Rover before last night’s nightmare pushed its way into his mind. He knew some part of him was punishing himself with those nightmares. He hadn’t killed Margery Wilson. The knife hadn’t plunged into her chest, but he’d done enough that her children still hadn’t gotten their mother back. Not really. Were there enough nightmares in a lifetime to make up for that?

He pushed the mask up and put his face in his hands. Audrey got in the Land Rover. He didn’t say anything. 

“Dwight is arranging a safe house, and a cargo van for transport. They are packing up right now. You knew who lived here?” She was still angry and Duke was tired of the not-quite-a-fight that was going on here.

“I didn’t recognize the house number or Gunnerson at first.”

“And this morning. You knew where you were this morning?” She’d picked up on that, then.

“That’s why I made sure the rocking chair didn’t decide to walk off in the confusion.”

“This kind of thing is exactly why I told Nathan we didn’t need to get you involved,” she muttered.

Duke blinked. _Nathan_ was the one that wanted him involved? But Nathan had shoved him toward Audrey so fast… Oh. 

"Honestly, I expected you to pull up anchor, spend a week drunk, and then be back at the station harassing Nathan."

Her voice was heavy with the implication that he must have spent the last two months sulking. He suddenly had the urge to apologize to her—for what, he wasn't even entirely sure, since the implication was wrong. He leaned away from her, hunched against the window. He quashed the nearly overwhelming urge to comply, to please. One thing he had learned in the last two months was to apologize for the right thing. Not everything was his fault, and taking the blame that rightly lay on the shoulders of McKee and the Rev would drive him crazy. He usually managed to believe that while he was awake.

_This_ was not him owing her an apology. This was the two of them needing to talk, and apparently Nathan, of all people, wanted that to happen. He _could_ explain why he hadn't done just what she'd thought he would, but would she even believe him if he said he didn't drink anymore? He wrapped his arms around himself. Anything he said about his problems would be seen as nothing but empty excuses. She was angry about him disturbing Gunnerson. _That_ he could talk about. 

“I’m not leaving Haven.” Duke looked directly at her while he said it. 

“What? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Twenty-three other people were taken. They live scattered all over Haven. Between the ones who have jobs and all those people that care about them, unless I am on my boat or in my bar, I have a good chance of running into one of them by accident. I’m not leaving Haven. So yeah, I knew exactly where we were this morning. I don’t make it a policy to go knocking on their doors, scaring them even more. I made a mistake here, but I’m not leaving town, so I have to deal with the fact that I could run into one of them or an angry family member every time I step away from home.”

“And you’re good with running the risk of randomly bumping into your victims?”

“Really? The only person who has ever gotten me to kill someone, asks if I’m good with bumping into people that I hurt?” From the look on her face she was asking. “No. No, I’m not good with that. I’m not leaving, and I’m not spending the rest of my life on my ship, so I have to deal with it.”

“If it's that's bad, why are you staying?” 

He put both hands on the wheel and stared at the smoke that had gotten even thicker in the air. Why didn’t he run now? He could. Pull up anchor and leave Haven. He thought about Benny and Katie, Beattie, Dwight, Tracy and the other employees at the Gull, Bill and Megan McShaw who had trusted him to keep the restaurant in ‘the family,’ Nathan who apparently wanted to reconnect in spite of everything between them. He wasn’t alone here. 

“This is home.”

"It's Margery Wilson's home, too, Duke."

_"Nathan, you there, hon?"_

_"Go ahead, Laverne."_

Duke let the crackle of the radio conversation roll over him. He wasn't ready for this—not for this conversation or the confrontation with Gunnerson. 

_"Firefighters found a burned out camper. Belonged to Daniel and Hannah Haversham. Their vehicle isn't near the camper, but they're not home either."_

Duke sighed. He knew the Havershams. They had three kids.

_"Get a description of their vehicle out to everyone. Have Rafferty look for them in town. I'll check in with the firefighters."_

_"Sure thing, sweetie."_

Duke looked at Audrey. She had beaten him to it and was already looking in his direction. 

"They have children?" she asked.

Duke nodded. "Three. We have to help,"

"We'll finish talking later."

_Much, much later. Or never. Never would be good._

Visibility was getting bad. Nathan appeared from the smoke, less than twenty feet from the Rover. Duke and Audrey stepped out, pulling their masks back down over their faces. Nathan looked at both of them suspiciously.

"Suttle is coming up here with a van to transport the family to the safe house. He's five minutes out. The three of us will ride together to join the search for the Havershams."

"Do you think we should be taking a civilian in there?"

Nathan had that intense stare going again, but directed at Audrey this time. "Duke, would you mind going on ahead to the Dixie Boy Truck Stop. The searchers are meeting there. We'll be less than ten minutes behind you." He looked hopeful. "Maybe you can order some burgers, to be ready to go when we get there?"

Audrey didn't look too pleased, but Nathan was practically projecting his desire for Duke to agree. Duke smiled. He wouldn't have left Nathan hanging, even without the intensity, but it sent warmth through him to know that Nathan wanted him along. "They serve lunch foods this early?" 

Nathan nodded. He looked like he wanted say more, so Duke waited, but it turned into one of those awkward things with everyone just waiting for something to happen. 

Duke rubbed the back of his head and shuffled his foot on the gravel. "Sure. Burgers and sodas, I'm going to go, then." 

Nathan nodded again and turned back toward the house. Audrey followed him.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Duke concentrated on driving, refusing to let his mind wander over his interactions with Audrey. He met Suttle driving a cargo van only a few blocks away from the Gunnerson-Wilson house. Good. As thick as this smoke was, no one needed to be in the area. He passed a couple of police vehicles on side streets. Officers with clipboards were clearing the addresses of people that hadn't passed Stan at the entrance.

Sometimes he got so used to the Haven PD handling things that were outside the realm of the law or even possibility, he forgot they _were_ a competent and efficient bunch in dealing with things that were covered by the rule book. A fire that was, by all indications, a perfectly natural event caused by too little rain and a careless campfire must be like a break for them. Well, there were the giant spiders to complicate matters, but this was as close to a mundane crisis as possible during the Troubles.

He pulled into the truck stop and parked well out of the way. A lot of volunteers had already gathered. Heads turned and he could feel the staring gazes boring into his back as he passed the crowd outside. He knew the group on this side of the lot belonged to the Guard. The familiar symptoms of stress—queasy stomach, dry mouth, elevated heart rate, tightness in his chest—that he had avoided during his talk with Audrey hit him hard now. The order to let him be was not a popular one. He cleared that group. With them still glaring at him from behind, he had to pass the no man's land that was being maintained in front of the diner. The Rev's former church members stared at him from the other side. 

He held his head high, and made sure his body language showed confidence, but not a challenge. It said, _this guy knows something we don't_ , which usually gave bullies pause. This particular con was a relic of high school. Funny how little people changed. In fact, some of these people were the same ones that had forced him to learn it in the first place. He made it inside, which seemed to be thankfully empty of either group.

He shut the door behind him and took a deep breath. _Let it out slowly, Duke, and sound calm while ordering_. The smell of the greasy food hit him like a rogue wave. He rattled off Nathan and Audrey's order, then made a dash for the bathroom. It was a closet sized room with just a single toilet and sink. He got the door locked and his head over the toilet before the heaving started. 

When it slacked off, he noted that the room was surprisingly clean for a truck stop. The floor was even dry. He huddled into the corner, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. He checked his pulse and concentrated on slowing his breathing down. The crowd had surprised him. It was just shock value that had him rattled. He nodded. Yeah, that was it. They weren't really eyeing him like a tug of war toy to be pulled apart.

Okay. Enough lying to himself. That was exactly how they had been looking at him. He wasn't setting foot out the door until Nathan and Audrey had scattered both sides. It was one thing to tell himself he was going to live his life normally, and another to ignore real danger. He stood up and washed the ash and grime off his hands and face. He checked his pulse again, and wrote it in his notebook. He sorted his morning pills out of the case from his pocket and washed them down with water from the sink. Maybe they'd stay down. He checked his appearance in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot from the vomiting, but he could blame it on the smoke. 

Back in the store, which was still empty, he peeked out the window at the parking lot. Nathan's Bronco was parked in the middle of the no man's land the two groups had established, and the men on both sides were dispersing. Duke took a deep breath. A much less shaky one, now that he had back-up. He bought some eye drops, Gatorade, and trail mix. It wasn't looking good on getting anything to stay down, but he should try. 

Duke was at the checkout when Nathan slammed the door open. His eyes darted back and forth, then his gaze settled on Duke. His lips moved slowly into a smile. He covered the distance to the register in three long strides. Then he stood just a little too close, almost touching Duke while waiting to pay for his lunch.

Duke stepped back a couple of feet once he had his change. He hadn't had a chance to figure out where Nathan was coming from in this situation. Nathan hadn't spoken to him in two months, and yet his body language kept saying friendly, maybe even flirty in an awkward Nathan Wuornos sort of way. Coming from Nathan it was shockingly intimate. 

Then again, Duke knew he was the town's least favorite person these days, and he didn't want to drag Nathan down with him. At least not until he was sure that Nathan knew the consequences. It was different for Dwight. He and the Guard had had their lines drawn for years, and Dwight wasn't trying to hang onto a public position. He was like a Sasquatch sized secret agent that somehow always managed to fly under the town's radar.

Nathan took the food trays and looked over his shoulder for Duke. He frowned. "Where's your food?"

"Already ate."

Nathan brushed Duke's shoulder as he passed. His nose wrinkled at the smell. "You sick?"

"No." Duke rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Smoke kind of got to me. I'm fine now."

"Don't make yourself a liability out there."

" _Kids_ , Nathan. I won't slow you down." 

Nathan gave him a nod. "Come on then."

Nathan handed the food through the truck window to Audrey. He went around to the driver's side and began demolishing his burger. _How does he not eat his tongue_? Duke wondered.

Audrey stuck her head out the window, "Hey, Haven to Duke. You going to stand out there all day?"

Duke shook his head. "Letting you eat first."

"Fine, you can throw this stuff away." She handed him their takeout boxes, then scooted to the middle.

Duke tossed the trash and slid in beside her. The greasy smell of their burgers somehow managed to overpower the smoke, and his stomach fluttered at him. He sipped his Gatorade, and hoped it didn't get worse.

Nathan's truck rumbled to life and Nathan turned back toward the leading edge of the fire, the opposite direction everyone else had went. "We're taking the backroad that comes down from the hiking trail system, see if we can't spot their vehicle. Dwight and Jordan circled around, and will be at the other end of the road before too long."

This end of the road was in front of the fire. Barely. Nathan turned back toward the subdivision. Stan was still at the subdivision entrance. Nathan stopped.

"What's the hold up here?" he called out the window. 

"One of the door-to-door teams hasn't pulled out yet. They ran into some stragglers."

"Why didn't the other teams split the difference with them?"

"They only had a couple houses left." Stan looked at his watch. "Should have checked in by now though." 

_"McDougal to Chief Wuornos. Chief? We've got a...turtle...up near the Gunnerson place."_

"A turtle?" Nathan replied steadily, but Duke saw the frown and the way Nathan hunched in on himself ever so slightly.

_"It's a...a_ gas leak _kind of turtle, sir."_

"Evacuate if you can. Stay out of sight if you can't. I'll be right there." He put his hand to his forehead and rubbed as if he could feel a headache. "Everyone else is out?" he asked Stan.

"Yes, sir."

"Good—" Nathan clipped the end of the word and glanced guiltily over at Duke, who'd barely flinched at the word, before changing it to, "—Okay. You head back to the spider detail."

Stan nodded and headed for his cruiser. Duke tried to give Nathan a Meaningful Look that said he was fine with the casual use of the word 'good' now, but Nathan was distracted by the glass armonica playing the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies on his cell. "That's Dwight."

Duke hoped Dwight never found out.

"Wuornos." After listening, he said, "Likely. We've got a turtle on this end. Find them. We have to deal with this before it gets out of the evacuation zone." He pocketed the phone, and put the truck in gear. "Dwight found the Haversham's vehicle partially burned at the trail-head. More giant animals fleeing the area."

"So one of the Havershams is Troubled and causing this," Audrey said.

Nathan nodded. "Dwight and Jordan are heading down the trail to find them, maybe talk them down. We've got to get our officers out of here and keep this turtle occupied until they do it."

"You make it sound so easy, Nathan," Duke teased. He earned a dirty look, which he took as a win.

They turned onto the road that ended at the Gunnerson house. One of the vehicles Duke had passed earlier was in the middle of the road at the far end of the street, the back axle smashed into the pavement. A snapping turtle with a shell the size of an SUV had clamped its beak on the roof of the car and was peeling it back like a can of sardines. The officers had the door open on the other side and were sliding out, but they were too close for escape.

Nathan gunned the engine and raced toward the monster. Duke opened the window and fired his pistol. He hoped with a target this big, he wouldn't miss, despite the bouncing truck. The second shot must have hit something, because the turtle stopped tearing open the car and looked in their direction. 

Nathan drove the Bronco up on a lawn and stopped it. The turtle was moving away from the car. The officers sneaked along the car toward the back end of the turtle. 

"Try to hit it in the eye." Nathan said. He and Duke both leaned out and fired. Chips flew off it's shell, but didn't slow it at all. It's head snaked back and forth, never still. 

The officers had taken cover inside a house. Hopefully out of sight, out of mind. Nathan slammed the truck into gear and made a U-turn back onto the road. The turtle snapped down on the back bumper. For a second the truck spun, going nowhere. Then with a screech of metal, the bumper broke free, and the truck shot forward.

Something ricocheted from the ruined bumper and the back end bounced up as the passenger tire ran over it. Duke turned around, watching the turtle. It chewed the bumper a couple times before dropping it. Its head whipped back and forth on its snake-like neck before focusing on the Bronco again. It sprinted forward. Damn, how fast was that thing? He'd poked enough snappers as a kid to know they were faster than they looked, but _damn_. 

"Speed up, Nathan!" Audrey shouted.

"Can't. Something's wrong."

The turtle stopped, waving its head around, looking for its next target. Nathan let the truck slow to a stop, bumping up over a curb to get it partially out of the road. Something clanged to the ground as they came to a complete stop. 

"Okay, everyone out. We don't want to be trapped in here if it decides to come back this way," Nathan said. Half a block away, the turtle snapped up lawn ornaments shaped like giant snails.

They quietly opened the doors and slid out. A shift in wind pushed the obscuring smoke back toward the woods, and the turtle wandered back the direction they had come from. Nathan radioed the officers and told them to make their way out of the subdivision on parallel streets. Duke lagged several feet back from Nathan and Audrey as the three of them followed the turtle. They kept it in sight, but tried to stay well away from it.

Nathan's phone rang. The turtle's head began snaking back and forth again. They crouched behind a hedge, and Nathan whispered, "Wuornos."

After a moment, he said, "Do what you can, but your first priority is to get them down the mountain. The wind shift could bring the fire toward you."

Nathan hung up the phone and peeked over the hedge. The turtle hadn't moved "Dwight and Jordan have the Havershams. They found a cave deep enough to hide from the fire, so they're okay. They were already walking out. You remember how Daniel Haversham was in school."

"Little Danny? Shortest guy in high school?"

Nathan gestured toward the giant turtle.

"He's the guy that's always putting up those ads for his store where his picture is bigger than the store, isn't he?" Audrey asked.

Nathan nodded. 

"The guy is maybe 5'3" in real life. You know, a giant might not be the best person to talk him down," Duke said, glancing at the turtle. It hadn't moved.

"Just getting to safety might be enough to calm his Trouble down." Duke thought Audrey didn't sound too sure of that, though.

Several minutes later, the turtle still hadn't moved. No call from Dwight and Jordan either. Duke contemplated eating his trail mix. The wind shifted and smoke rolled over the neighborhood again. They all pulled their masks back on.

The turtle moved toward them, toward the edge of the evacuation zone. "We've got to keep it here," Nathan said. He drew his Glock and waited. 

Duke held a hand up, and grinned. He didn't even care that they couldn't see the expression behind the mask. He pulled a stick of dynamite from his satchel. "I've got this. Best if we aren't too close when it goes off, though."

Audrey punched him in the arm—not the one holding the dynamite. "You've been carrying that around with me all day?"

"I don't even want to know how you got your hands on that, because then I'd be obligated to arrest you." Nathan refused to look too closely at it.

"I didn't see our pistols doing anything—not even annoying it!" 

Audrey sighed. "You're right."

The turtle lumbered closer. It wasn't moving at attack speed now. "So, wait to see what it does, or light this now?"

"Hold on to that. We'll let it go past us, and follow it. If it doesn't try to get out of this subdivision, we'll hold off." Nathan shook his head. "Less to explain." 

Duke hunched in, trying to make himself less of a target as the turtle stomped past them. He told himself he was only imagining that puddles were vibrating like that T-Rex scene in _Jurassic Park_. It ambled slowly up the street. The smoke got thicker until they were more tracking the turtle through the sound of it's movement than sight. After the third time Nathan stumbled over something they couldn't see in the dim light, they moved into the street.

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

It was hard to tell with certainty where they were, but they'd surely gotten close to the edge of the subdivision by now. Nathan grabbed Duke's arm. "Light it!" 

"You two might want to take cover." Duke lit the fuse and threw it hard as he could to land in front of the turtle. Then he joined Nathan and Audrey in running down the street. The fuse had about 15 second delay on it, shorter than standard. He was far enough back that he barely felt the shockwave. 

The air was suddenly filled with the oily musk that scared turtles gave off. _Oh, great, I'm going to smell like this tonight._ He caught up to Nathan and Audrey, who had stopped and were watching the turtle. It was weaving, like it was disoriented, but then it turned and charged them. 

It covered distance amazingly fast for something with such a slow reputation. "We need to get off the street, find somewhere it can't follow us!" Audrey shouted.

"Can't see good enough in this smoke. Nathan will never make it through the lawn gnome armies."

"You're the one lagging behind, Crocker."

The turtle's beak clacked together. Duke swore he felt the breeze from it. He pushed himself to keep up with the others, but his heart was racing and he was fighting off a coughing fit from the pall of smoke. No matter what he'd said to Nathan earlier, this day was pushing his body further than it was ready to go. Another clang, this time even louder. 

"Angle off the road. Split up!" Nathan shouted.

Duke and Audrey headed toward the other side of the street. There was another snap and Duke was flying through the air. Then whipping back the other direction. On the second direction change, his arms extended just the right way and slid out of his coat. He hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of him. Black spots filled his vision. 

He couldn't stop coughing. Non-stop, hack-up-a-lung coughing, and it kept him from catching his breath so he could get moving. Audrey appeared by his side. She yanked on his arm, pulling him upright. He helped as best as he could, staggering along, still coughing. 

Audrey propped him up against a car that had been left behind. "Stay here. I've got to help Nathan." 

Maybe not being right next to a dangerous giant turtle helped, but Duke was finally able to catch his breath. He peeked over the car just in time to see the turtle clamp onto Nathan's coat and begin slinging him. He swallowed. Okay, that ragdoll flailing of limbs was actually scarier to look at than it felt. He hadn't had time to think while being whipped around. Audrey aimed carefully and shot the turtle in the neck. It released Nathan, who hit the street and rolled into the curb. Audrey backed away still firing.

Nathan hadn't moved. Duke's stomach dropped. If Nathan wasn't moving that was a bad sign. He'd happily get up and run on a broken leg. Duke ducked around the car and turtle and ran to Nathan. Audrey had gotten another car between her and the turtle and was backing toward a house. 

Nathan rolled over and started puking about the time Duke skidded to a stop next to him. "You trying to tell me something there, Nathan?" 

Nathan flopped onto his back and squeezed his eyes shut. The whole side of his shirt was bloody. Duke yelped and scrambled back. He pulled gloves out and put them on. Nathan was still on his back with his eyes shut tight.

"Nathan. Open your eyes. Look at me."

"Dizzy. Everything's spinning."

Duke glanced back at the turtle and Audrey. He could barely make out her outline in the doorway of the house across the street, but the muzzle flashes from her pistol were clear. The turtle was clambering across the the top of the car, still going for her. 

"We've got to move while Audrey has that thing busy." 

Nathan used his arms to push himself up to sitting. He only made it about halfway before he started heaving again. 

"Normally I'd say you shouldn't move at all, but we've got to get you away from that thing, so I can see if it ate your liver or something, without it coming back for seconds," Duke babbled.

"...What?" Nathan was still propped up on one elbow. Blood trickled from his hairline and trailed down his face. His eyes were twitching, and he looked like he might start puking again any second, whether he felt the nausea or not.

"I'm going to drag you to that house." Duke wrapped an arm around Nathan's chest and used the other hand to keep Nathan's head away from his own chest. He couldn't handle getting blood on him. It was an awkward, staggering, hunched over move, and Nathan started gagging the second Duke shifted him, but they made it to the door of the house.

He lowered Nathan to the ground and tried the door. It was locked. He rattled it—and it was deadbolted. He picked up a garden knickknack and broke out a pane of glass of the nearest window. Then he unlocked it, pushed it up, and climbed through. He crawled over the owner's couch, flipped the nearest light switches, and unlocked the door. Nathan hadn't moved and his eyes were shut tight. As he dragged Nathan through the door, a terrible crunching of timbers sounded from across the street. Duke hoped Audrey was going out the back door while the turtle tried to chew its way in the front.

He didn't bother getting too far into the house. Just enough to be able to shut the door. He pulled back Nathan's coat. The shirt underneath was soaked, but there wasn't as much damage as Duke had been afraid there would be.

"I'll be right back. Just don't move."

"...Yeah." 

"Okay, Nathan, you're starting to scare me," Duke muttered as he ran down the hall checking doors. In the bathroom he froze staring at a life-size wall sticker of a shark with it's mouth open posed like it was trying to jump off the wall and eat him. He shook his head. "Now _that_ is strange." 

With several towels collected, he ran back to the living room. Nathan was sitting up trying to get a look at the damage.

"Totally ignoring good advice? At least I know your head injury isn't too bad."

"Don't come near me." Nathan held up one bloody hand to ward Duke off. Duke swallowed heavily, looking at the blood. 

"Seriously? I need to put pressure on that before you bleed to death." _The craving for it never went away._ Maybe never would. He was like an alcoholic living in a bar.

"You'll get my blood on you. Just hand me the towel."

"You can't put pressure on that. It's practically on your back! I've got gloves on. I'm not going to hurt you." Duke sat on his knees next to Nathan, and tried to press the towels to the injury. If he was like an alcoholic, then he was on the wagon.

Nathan scooted away. "Duke. Stop. If you get blood on you—"

"Then I still won't hurt you. A lot of practice controlling myself, remember?" Duke reached for Nathan's side again.

"Hold still. Moving probably isn't a good idea when your liver may be exposed." He couldn't let anyone else be hurt because of his curse. If he couldn't do this, then he might as well stay home from now on. _Just don't think too hard._

"Wrong side of the body for the liver, Duke." Nathan sighed. "I can't let you risk it."

"Me risk…? Nate. What I'm not going to risk is you dying. Now, hold still." 

Nathan stared at Duke with that intense stare again. Long enough for Duke to consider whether he'd be able to force Nathan down without making the injury worse or getting blood on himself. But finally, Nathan lay down on his side.

Duke pulled Nathan's coat back and pressed the towels onto the jagged gouge. It wrapped around Nathan's side almost to his spine, but Duke didn't think it was as deep as he'd feared. He piled the towels up until the blood was barely visible. Nathan kept his blood covered hands well away. 

The crunching and tearing still carried across the street. "Well, we kept it from leaving." Duke grinned. "...Nathan?"

"What?"

"You weren't saying anything. Just checking."

"I really didn't think that deserved a response."

"Har. Har. You still dizzy? Seeing double or anything like that?"

"Room's not spinning anymore. It's kinda fuzzy in here."

"I think that's the smoke. Wait. Do you hear that?"

"It's quiet."

"Exactly. Do you—" A muffled rendition of "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" began playing in Nathan's pocket. "Oh thank god."

Duke gave Nathan a dirty look as Nathan squirmed around to dig the phone out of his pocket. 

"Wuornos."

Duke waited as Nathan listened. 

"Thanks, Dwight." He flipped the phone shut and grinned at Duke. "It's over. Dwight and Jordan got him talked down. They're taking the family to the hospital for a check-up."

The door slammed open behind Duke. He turned and saw Audrey squinting at them, framed by the dark cloud of smoke. She blinked several times and then zeroed in on Duke hovering over Nathan. Duke saw her eyes widen the moment his proximity to a bloody wound registered. 

"Duke! What are you doing?"

It was a bitter pill to swallow that being attacked by a giant turtle hadn't phased her at all, but the sight of him giving first aid scared her. 

She was directly behind him now. He spoke evenly and carefully. "Keeping pressure on this. You need to call an ambulance." 

"Already on the way. What are you _thinking_ getting that close to his blood?" 

"That I have gloves on, and I really don't want him to bleed to death."

"I can hear you, you know," Nathan grumbled.

Audrey stepped around Duke and knelt near Nathan's head. Duke didn't miss that she had her hand on the butt of her pistol until after she saw that his eyes were not silver. She closed her eyes briefly, and let out a breath. 

"I'm in control, Audrey. I'm not going to hurt anyone."

She squeezed his arm and nodded. "How bad is it?"

"I don't think this is is too deep, but he hit his head. Had some dizziness, vomiting, might have been unconscious for a few seconds."

"It's harder than it should be to move," Nathan mumbled.

"What do you mean?" The rising pitch of Audrey's voice worried Duke more than Nathan's mumbling.

"I mean this—" he lifted the phone up. "Should have put it next to my head."

"Put it in my hand," she held her hand out in his line of sight.

His aim was perfect, but he moved slowly. She caught his hand, and that _look_ spread across his face again. She slid her hands up his arm to his shoulder. His expression changed when her hand ran over the shoulder joint. 

"It hurts, but it's not bad. Strained probably," he said, and she nodded.

Duke kept silent and held very still. They seemed to have forgotten he was here, and watching Nathan _feel_ was one of the more beautiful sights he'd seen recently. She started at Nathan's other hand and worked up. He reacted worse when she touched the shoulder joint.

"Squeeze my hand. How'd that feel?"

Nathan looked kind of distant. Long enough to worry Duke. "Hey, you still in there, buddy?"

Nathan scowled at him, so yeah, he must be doing pretty good. "It just feels weird. Still sort of numb even with you holding my hand."

"I think you definitely better keep this arm still." Audrey stared at Duke's hands holding the towel firmly to Nathan's side. He followed her gaze. Blood covered the fingertips of his gloves. The sight set him breathing faster, his heart beating faster—what time was it? Had he missed a scheduled dose?—made him aware of pain in his ribs and shoulders, lungs and head. All he had to do to not feel anything would be to let that blood touch his skin. He shook his head. All he had to do to lose his friends, his self-respect, and maybe his life if the Guard found out, would be to touch that blood. 

A siren song to call Crockers to their doom, to drown in its madness. He got to be Odysseus in this one, because he wasn't going to let the family curse own him. Odysseus was even a sailor, so that was convenient—

"Duke!" Audrey had a tight grip on his shoulder. He met her eyes, and then quickly looked away. "You still want it, don't you?" She looked scared.

Should he tell her he was terrified of what he could become? Could he trust her with knowledge that held that much power over him? Lie? She'd seen him go all googly eyed over it just now. That lie wouldn't float. 

"Or did you already get your fix before I got here? Is that it?" She moved to block more of Nathan from his view.

He snapped his head up to look her in the eye. "No!"

"But you want it?"

"Audrey, that's enough," Nathan said. They both ignored him.

"No—yes—No. I don't want it. I will not become my father." _One touch and this conversation is over. **No!**_ He shook his head to clear it.

"I can see it in your eyes, Duke. Do you want me to help you out? I've got some on my hand. I could 'accidentally' touch you. Wouldn't even be your fault, then, would it?" She reached up and wiped some of the fresh blood still trickling down Nathan's face onto her fingers.

"Ow! Enough! Audrey, what do you think you're doing?"

She ignored Nathan and slowly moved her hand toward Duke's face. 

"What the hell, Audrey? I need to keep pressure on this." He leaned away from her, but kept his hands on the towel. Stomach acid crept up his throat. "If I let go, it's Nathan that's going to get hurt."

"See? All your excuses lined up." She moved steadily toward him. Nathan reached for her arm. She wasn't stopping, and Nathan was moving too slow. Duke broke and scuttled away across the room. _She had meant to carry through._ A montage of being forced by the Rev's men played through his mind. He needed to slow his breathing, stop hyperventilating, let his heart rate slow. Audrey's mouth was moving, but Duke couldn't hear past the sound of blood rushing through his ears. He swallowed several times, trying to calm his stomach. She spoke to Nathan now, which meant he had missed Nathan speaking as well. 

The gagging started. Nothing was coming up yet, so he took the bloody gloves off before he ran for the bathroom. He heaved until his bruised ribs shot fiery agony through him with every movement. He dropped to the cool tile floor, arms wrapped around his ribs, trying not to move. The ambulance sirens sounded impossibly close for him to just now be hearing them. 

Duke pushed himself up off the floor. _Home._ He needed to get home. A groan forced its way out as he stood straight. He leaned against the wall getting used to the pain before walking back up the hall. Tears had streaked the ash on Audrey's face. Nathan's mouth was set in a thin line, his eyebrows also drawn into a line. His color had dropped off even more to an unhealthy pallor.

"Duke—" The door swung open and the paramedics rushed in, interrupting her. 

Duke shook his head slightly at her, and sidled toward the back door. Outside, he moved as quickly as his ribs allowed into the yard of the next house over. Audrey might decide to follow him. _She was only testing you, Duke. She was scared._ Testing or not, he didn't want to talk to her right now.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

He watched through the clinging smoke as Audrey stepped into the front yard, stopped, peered down the street, and then turned a full circle searching for him through the poor visibility. The paramedics paused in pushing the stretcher to the ambulance, and she shook her head before getting in the passenger seat. 

Duke waited until he couldn't see the lights anymore, and tried calling Dwight. The phone went straight to voicemail, which meant Dwight must already be at the ER with the Havershams. "Guess I'm walking then," Duke muttered to himself. He checked the time. Noon. He took his second round of pills. He'd have time to get back to his truck and clean up without being late.

He stopped to rest at the pull-off he and Audrey had stopped at before, and a patrol car cruised by him, slowly. A view of the station from the wrong side of the bars popped into his mind and he froze, hoping the smoke would hide him. Depending on the police— _Audrey_ —to do the right thing was too risky, so he kept still, and when the cruiser was gone, pushed himself to walk faster in spite of the pain in his ribs. 

The wind blew in his face all the way down the hill, so he had relatively clear air to breathe. Three miles to the truck stop, nearly all on a steep downhill incline. By the time Duke dragged the last few steps to his truck, he wished he had flagged the cruiser down. He crawled into the driver's seat, and looked in the mirror just in time to see the cruiser come back down the hill. It drove on by the truck stop, ignoring that the door was still wide open on the Rover.

He dialed Dwight again, but it still went straight to voicemail. He should have been done by now, maybe he had forgotten to turn his phone on. Duke left a message saying he was on his way to the _Rouge_.

It only took a few minutes to drive home. The sky was dim with smoke, even here, and the fog horn was blasting out in the harbor. Inside he used the mirror to do a visual inspection. Bruises were spreading across his back and side, and muscle stiffness was already setting in. He should probably call his doctor about the bruising, but then they'd want to see him, and he didn't have the time or inclination for it today. He took some over-the-counter pain killers and got in the shower. 

At the cabin where _It_ had finally ended, he'd felt like he was washing away the fear and despair, letting it go down the drain with the Rev's blood. Ever since, he liked to imagine the water washing away whatever was bothering him, but today it didn't work. At least the smoke and grit and turtle musk scrubbed away. He got out and dressed in some comfortable clothes, set the alarm for 4:30, and gave in to the exhaustion pulling at him. He'd have plenty of time to be up and moving before Beattie arrived at 5:00.

He woke to his phone ringing at 4:15. He reached across his body for it, and gasped in pain. The phone stopped ringing for a second before starting again. Duke rolled carefully and slowly this time to flip the phone open. 

"H'lo."

"It's Dwight. I'm on the dock."

"Come on. I'll open the door."

He wrapped his arm tightly around his ribs and slowly shuffled over to the door to unlock it. Dwight set his bags on the table and turned back to take a good look at Duke. 

"About what I figured. Come on and I'll wrap those for you."

Duke didn't say anything. He just shuffled over to the bed and unbuttoned his shirt. It did feel better once Dwight had finished. He started buttoning his shirt.

"They're making Nathan spend the night at the hospital for observation, but he's going to be fine."

Duke nodded, and stood up to go to the kitchen.

"I talked to Nathan—and Audrey—while I was there."

Duke sat back down, and Dwight sat down near him, but not touching. "I'll—" He caught sight of Dwight's frown as he started to say, 'I'll be fine.' They both knew he'd be lying, and that wouldn't be helpful. "I'll probably be seeing it again tonight, and the ribs are going to give me trouble while babysitting."

Dwight nodded, meaning, 'Good enough. We can deal with it as it comes up.' They went back to the main room, and Dwight began pulling items out of his bag. "I brought the Raffi video." Duke groaned. The babies _loved_ that video. Again and again and again. "And some food."

"I'm not hungry."

Dwight raised an eyebrow at him. "The food is for me." He pulled a quart of French vanilla ice cream and a box of Carnation Instant Breakfast powders out of the bag. "I talked to Nathan. I brought a shake for you."

Duke smiled. Dwight's shakes managed to weigh in at over 1300 calories in only slightly more volume than one of the meal replacement shakes Duke normally drank—and they tasted good enough to tempt his appetite even on a day like this.

Duke's phone whistled. He looked at the message. "Two minute warning. I'll go help her."

"Sounds good."

The smoke had cleared enough that the fog horn wasn't blaring. The heavy cloud that had been hanging over the mountain seemed to be almost gone as well. Duke met Beattie at the end of his dock. She handed him the folding baby bed she was carrying. She took one look at the wince the motion caused and said, "Dwight better look better than you, or we're going to have words about when to make other arrangements, Duke Crocker."

"Die! Die!" Benny shouted happily waving from his seat in the double stroller.

Duke snickered. Beattie sighed heavily. "Do you have any idea how hard that is to explain in the grocery store?"

"I don't know, the image is pretty funny."

She gave him a purely evil smile, and leaned over the stroller. "Who is that, Katie? Who is that man?"

"Du du! Du du!"

Duke groaned. "Yeah, okay. That's a lot less funny."

She nodded in a satisfied way, and continued up the dock. "The bottles are already measured, just add the water. They've already had their bathes, but if you get them filthy with the baby food, give them another one."

She stopped talking to concentrate on getting the stroller on the deck. Duke didn't bother interrupting her. She gave the same rundown every time she dropped them off. Dwight always smiled in that sad way that meant he was thinking of Lizzie, and said all new parents always did that.

Duke sat back down at the table and Dwight handed Benny to him. Benny was the more demanding of the two babies, and hated being left in the stroller for any length of time. Dwight and Beattie set up the bed. She gave the rest of her instructions and Dwight gave reassurances. Then she was kissing babies and saying goodbye. 

Dwight held Katie and distracted her with a rattling toy that lived on the _Rouge_. Duke kept a small basket of toys. They were new to the babies every week. Beattie slipped out the door and they had averted another potential twin crying crisis. 

Dwight started the video, and the babies settled in for some serious exploring of their environment. Duke sat stiffly on the bench supervising, while Dwight put his milk in the fridge. They'd quickly discovered that the two of them didn't have a lot of overlap in what they liked to eat, so Dwight often brought his own food when he spent the night.

"Duke?"

"Yeah?" They both stopped to watch as Benny took a rattle from Katie, who grabbed the other end and yanked hard enough that Benny toppled over. He landed on a crinkly ball and immediately forgot the rattle.

Dwight shook his head and stopped watching the babies. He was holding the half-empty bag Duke had stashed in the fridge earlier. "Why the fridge?"

"They were beating on the door. I yanked the tube out and shoved it in there. I barely remembered to set the clamp." 

"Do you have more tubing?"

Duke groaned. "No. That was my last section, and the pharmacy is closed this week." Dwight gave him a questioning look. "You remember it closes every year for a week before the anniversary of their opening?"

"That's this week?"

"How long has it been since you slept, big guy?"

"Too long. Well, this is no good." Dwight threw the tubing and bag in the trash. 

"I'll be fine for a couple of days. Just be a bad weigh-in, Monday. A few more weeks before she calls it good enough."

Dwight opened a can of ravioli and dumped it into a pot. "Did you eat _any_ thing today?" he asked without looking at Duke.

"A little." Duke wanted to complain that he couldn't just ask the case to slow down because it was stressing his stomach. His thing with eating was like living on a carousel. He had to eat a ridiculous number of calories to regain weight and especially the muscle he had lost, but puking had become his body's go-to thing in response to high stress. Some of the meds needed to be taken with food or they made his stomach worse, one had to be taken without eating for two hours before or after, and it all added up to the point that just sitting down to a plate of food sometimes made him queasy on principle. 

He wanted to be involved; wanted to be seen as capable, and he'd thought maybe getting out of his zone would let things—food—settle back into a normal perspective. Dwight had been here since the cabin. He knew everything. The nutritionist and doctor and their staffs knew. Hell, even Claire knew, since the cardiologist wouldn't prescribe the anti-anxiety meds without her, with the idea that the stomach problem was mostly a psych problem. The list of people that knew all the places he was broken was already far too long for Duke to be forthcoming with Nathan and Audrey. Especially Nathan. 

The video ended. Katie pulled Benny's hair, and he hit her on the head with a toy. Both of them started crying. Duke sighed, then smiled at the crying babies. They were a good reminder that life was not so bad. A bittersweet reminder that he'd never see Jean, but getting to know her siblings was as close as he could get in this lifetime. Being familiar with these babies' antics also made the updates the adoptive parents sent him more meaningful. He slid off the bench to sit in the floor with them, and was soon rewarded with slobbery baby kisses, and who could resist such sweet trust and love? 

The evening went by quickly. Benny smeared his teething biscuit over everything within reaching distance of his chubby little fist, and Dwight had to give him a bath. Katie preferred the chilled teethers, so the only sticky mess was her toddler TV dinner. She made up for it later by making it rain Cheerios when Duke got distracted by his milkshake.

By the time the babies were both asleep, Duke's muscles ached all over from the walking and being thrown around by a giant turtle, and his ribs throbbed in time with his heart. Dwight was bleary-eyed and swaying on his feet, in spite of the nap he had taken between dropping off the Havershams and arriving at the _Rouge_.

"Don't forget the trashcan," Dwight said. 

Duke nodded. It had been a while since he had needed it, but after today… He put a new bag in before bringing it with him to the bedroom. The only thing worse than puking after a nightmare was having to clean it out of the carpet afterward. If he was very, very lucky the sheer exhaustion would keep him asleep through the night.

 


	6. Chapter 6

_The Rev held up a hand for Duke to stop. He didn't open the door of the blood room. Duke waited. What had he done wrong? He needed the blood. He'd done everything they ordered. He tried not to fidget or shake, but his stomach still flipped and fluttered._

_This was different. Different always hurt. A hand grasped his arm. A dainty hand. It moved, leaving a streak of blood. He followed the hand back to the person. Audrey._

_The blood was absorbing. She said, "You're nothing but a monster. Go. Kill him."_

_Duke shook his head in horror, then the blood sang through him. The Rev opened the door, put the knife in Duke's hand, and said, "Kill him. Spill his guts and take his blood."_

_The man on the table looked familiar, but the blood sang and Duke didn't care. He plunged the knife into the man's stomach. He toyed with him. Rode the high until the blood became tacky. The rush finally wore off. He staggered, the rebound from the extended high laying him out, too weak to stand._

_He came out of the haze with sudden realization. Nathan! He jumped to his feet. Nathan's face was frozen in a look that said he'd known he was about to die. Duke looked at the wound in Nathan's side, clotted, sticky blood around the edges._

_He put his hands over the gaping hole, as if he could reverse the damage. Audrey's hand came toward his face, covered with fresh blood. Closer. Closer._


	7. Chapter 7

Dwight woke to the sound of sobbing interspersed with retching. Duke was hanging over the edge of the bed, puking, hopefully into the trashcan. 

"Duke."

A choked sound indicated that he had heard Dwight, but he didn't reach his hand out or stop crying. Dwight sighed. It hadn't been this bad in weeks. He slid out of the bed, knelt just outside the splatter zone. He wished he could raise Duke's chin, pull his eyes up, so Duke could see who was in front of him, but touching his head, especially his face, was off-limits. 

Dwight caught one of Duke's hands and squeezed, not hard enough to injure, but enough to cut through the haze, to let Duke know where to focus. He gave it a minute, waited until Duke squeezed in return before he spoke. 

"It's Dwight. You're on the _Rouge_. You're safe."

Duke's ragged breathing slowed a little. He hadn't retched in a while. As soon as the shaking started, Dwight crawled back on the bed. He put his back against the wall and tugged on Duke's hand, inviting him closer. Duke moved so fast that Dwight missed it in the dim light. An oomph escaped him as Duke's head hit his chest. Duke's free arm snaked around Dwight's waist, pulling him in tight. 

Dwight rubbed his back, and kept repeating, "It's Dwight. You're on the _Rouge_. You're safe," like a mantra while Duke shook. He'd expected some kind of reaction based on the encounter with Gunnerson and the need to give Nathan first aid, but this was as bad as he'd ever seen the other man. At least equal to the first week, maybe worse, because the first week Duke's stamina had been too low to sustain something this long. He'd have passed out. 

Words faded into humming. The only song he could ever remember to hum in the middle of the night was a lullaby. The first time, Duke had been indignant the next morning. Then he had apologized with a look that told Dwight he expected to be hurt for complaining. Dwight hadn't learned all the quirks then, and watched unable to stop it as Duke spiraled through guilt and fear and ended up cowering in a corner. Dwight had waited for over an hour just out of arm's reach, in as non-threatening a pose as possible, until Duke had worked through the knot he'd gotten himself into. Talking a week later established that sound helped, even if it was a lullaby. That they had made it through that conversation with no panic had been a major milestone.

If Nathan and Audrey had managed to rewind Duke to the beginning, he was going to make them sorry. Tomorrow he would corner them and force them to tell him what they had left out today. It had taken an inhuman effort by the Rev to do this much damage, and no one walked away from that easily, but Duke was coping. Duke wasn't some wilting flower to react this badly to what they had said had happened. Thinking about it, Nathan and Audrey had been shifty, he'd just been too tired to see it. 

The shaking finally stuttered to a stop. Dwight stopped rubbing, and held his hand back, so Duke had a clear route of escape if he needed it. Duke held for a few seconds. There were a few possible paths from this point. Dwight hoped it wouldn't be… He sighed as Duke released his hand and wedged himself into the corner of the bunk, hugging a pillow. All Dwight could see was tousled black hair and bloodshot eyes, which stared into the distance, not seeing the present. 

This could take hours before he was ready to talk. Dwight checked the clock. The babies still didn't quite sleep through the night. They'd be up wanting bottles soon. He scooted off the bed, and cleaned up the mess, including taking a quick shower. When they talked about these staring spells, Duke described them as a break. Absence. They were like a reset, he said. The doctor wasn't sure if it was purely psychological or some kind of seizure, they'd not managed to capture one on an EEG yet.

"I'm going to fix the babies' bottles." He checked the time again, and hurried through prepping the bottles. Two diaper changes and two bottles later, the babies were back in their beds. Duke hadn't moved. Sweat trickled from his hair. 

Dwight didn't like to do this, it felt too much like taking advantage, but the bed clothes needed to be changed, and Duke needed a cooler place to be absent. He took one of Duke's hands and pulled. "Come on. On your feet."

Duke complied with the same distant stare. He maintained it all through Dwight getting him cleaned up and redressed. Then pulled his knees up to his chest and continued to stare from the chair as Dwight changed the sheets.

Dwight lay down against the wall, leaving plenty of space on the outside. He had almost fallen asleep when Duke uncurled and crawled into bed. 

"Thanks," his voice was muffled by being pressed up against Dwight's chest. Dwight patted his back a couple more times before falling asleep again. Duke's restless movements woke him not much over an hour later. At some point he got to sleep through the night. It was in his contract, Dwight was sure of it. He sat up and shook Duke's shoulder.

Duke scrubbed a hand over his face. "Well, shit."

Dwight didn't say anything. Not talking was the surest way to get Duke's mouth running. It took a while. Dwight's eyelids were drooping before Duke spoke again. 

"I killed him—in my dream. She—" his voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. She—Audrey—touched me with blood on her hand. The Rev—" Now he curled up a bit around his stomach. Dwight hoped this wouldn't end with more puking. 

Duke continued. "The Rev put the knife in my hand, ordered me to kill, and the blood sang in me. I-I did it. Tortured him. Enjoyed it. Didn't even realize or maybe just didn't care who it was until it wore off after." He curled up tighter. "She's right. She's right."

"Nathan's fine." Dwight didn't even have to ask who Duke was talking about.

"I _know_ , but I _saw_ it. I _did_ it. I was right there yesterday. I held his blood in. He was groggy, I could have…"

"You didn't."

"I can't be trusted."

"Duke. Three Troubled sleep here every Friday night. Have you ever considered cutting me in my sleep?"

"No!"

"So you've just been biding your time until you can kill Benny and Katie then."

"What, are you _sick_? No."

"So, I can trust you, and Beattie can trust you with her babies, but Nathan and no one else can."

"You're just twist—that's not what I mea—I felt it today. Even before Audrey came in. I thought about it."

"What did you think?"

"I… There was something about Odysseus and being on the wagon. Oh gods. I was never going to—I was Odysseus." he laughed raggedly, uncurled, and met Dwight's eyes. "I didn't. I saw the blood. I acknowledged the addiction, and… Yeah. I had it under control until…" He trailed off and shuddered, his arms wrapping around himself again.

"Audrey."

Duke nodded. "I don't know what'll happen if I touch it again." His chin dropped to his chest. "I don't know."

Dwight checked the clock. He might as well call it a night at this point. "You'll deal with it. You're dealing with what happened before, and you'll deal with the future. A second at a time, if you have to. Through setbacks, if you have to, and you'll have people backing you up. Even if sometimes they do absolutely the wrong thing. You just have to choose."

Duke sighed. "I don't want to die." He looked up at Dwight who gave him an 'And?' eyebrow raise. He sighed again, and said with much less conviction. "And I don't deserve to die either."

"Hey, I know the whole story. I think the people who deserve it are already dead. That's why I stuck around back at the beginning, remember?"

Duke nodded again, then glanced at the clock. He grimaced at the time. The babies never slept past six, and it was already close to five. "I'll make coffee and get you some breakfast going."

"Duke."

"Yeah, okay. Breakfast for me, too." He slid out of bed and headed toward the galley, muttering, "Not sure what good he thinks it'll do."

Dwight put on his clean clothes. He needed to go home after Beattie left and sleep for twelve hours. He knew that instead he'd head back to moving Troubled to safe locations away from the fire, and generally doing whatever he could to keep things under wraps.

He went into the main room and pulled out the babies' clothes, and fresh diapers. Then made fresh bottles. It was still a little before six, and both babies were still asleep. Duke was busy cooking. 

"That's enough pancakes for several people," Dwight said as he poured a cup of coffee. 

"We'll have company." His shoulders hunched and his voice was tight.

A knock on the door interrupted whatever Dwight had been about to say. Instead he looked at Duke, probably with his mouth hanging open.

Duke glanced over his shoulder with a small smile, and held up his phone. "Nathan texted right after I walked in here, wanting to 'talk'."

Dwight took a gulp of too-hot coffee. He grimaced, but this conversation required caffeine. The pounding on the door resumed before he could open it. He hauled the door open, expecting to see Nathan looking impatient and short-tempered. Instead he found himself chest to face with Audrey. 

She stepped back looking surprised. "Dwight?"

Nathan stood behind her almost swaying on his feet. He was pale, but had that stubborn look that only he could muster.

"Uh, should you be out of the hospital?" 

Nathan didn't answer. Audrey gave Nathan a dirty look, but very gently directed him through the door. 

Dwight took that to mean that no _sensible_ person would be out, but Nathan had refused to stay. He stepped back into the corner under the ladder and motioned them on in. "Did you sneak out to be here this early?" Nathan shook his head slightly, and made his way toward the table booth.

Audrey stopped, blocking Dwight into the corner. "So … You're here at this hour, and Duke had a 'big date' last night. The two of you, huh? Guess that explains how weird you were acting over on Oak Street."

"No."

"Huh?"

"I'm Duke's friend. Not his sexual partner." Dwight leaned toward her, putting his bulk into her space. "He needs his friends to be his friends right now." 

Audrey stared at him for a beat. She took a step back and looked away, "Yeah, about that…"

"I know what you were doing, but that wasn't the way. You want your answer, try putting in some time." Dwight sighed and scrubbed his hand through his hair. "The Rev made one hell of a mess, and frankly the only way to clean it is time and hard work."

Her eyes narrowed, and she looked him up and down, suspiciously. "So you're here as a cleaner?"

Dwight missed the more fun version of Audrey that had first arrived in Haven. "That too." He side stepped her getting out of the corner. "Sometimes it's just human decency to not leave someone alone when they're down." He held up a hand to forestall the protest he saw coming. "I know it was necessary at first."

"Are you two going to come eat before it's cold?" Duke called from the galley.

Dwight moved to the galley quickly enough to catch Duke gently stroke Nathan's back. Nathan gave no indication he knew Duke was touching him. Dwight saw the guilt flash across Duke's face before he stepped quickly out of Nathan's personal space, and retreated to the other end of the room with the babies' bottles. Nathan stared after him wistfully. Audrey was asking him if he was interested in Duke when Duke and Nathan pined for each other so obviously? He shook his head and piled pancakes and and bacon onto his plate.

" _Babies_? Where did you two get babies?" Audrey asked staring into the sitting area.

"Those are Beattie's babies, Benny and Katie. I've been babysitting Friday nights since Abby went back home. Now Duke helps, too. Learn all kinds of things when you're here." He slid onto the bench across from Nathan, who was chewing methodically, but didn't seem to be enjoying the food very much. 

Audrey slid in next to Dwight. "Nathan. You're not happy about pancakes and babies. What's wrong?"

"Tired." 

Dwight followed Nathan's stare, and saw the stiff way Duke held himself and the small winces whenever one of the babies moved in his lap. Duke caught them staring, and flashed a grin. Dwight shook his head and hurried to finish his food, so he could help. 

Audrey frowned at Nathan, who Dwight figured looked more miserable than a guy who couldn't feel anything should ever look. "So, you've been fed, and you've seen that Duke is something approximating fine, now you need to be in a bed, and I need to be at the station." She stood up and held a hand out to Nathan.

Nathan ignored her hand and grunted what might have been part of a word at her in response. It sounded disgruntled. 

"Why don't you stay here? I doubt you being alone or on a couch at the station were recommended by the doc," Duke called from across the room. "I'm not going to work today."

Duke's overly confident, slightly too loud tone said to Dwight that he wanted the answer to be yes, but was afraid it would be no. Audrey's eyes narrow as she considered the idea. Dwight suppressed a sigh. Those two needed to work this out. He'd wish for a clue hammer, but in Haven things tended to be both too literal and too quickly deadly. 

Nathan stumbled as he stood up. He caught himself, but kept a hand braced on something the rest of the way toward the bedroom. Dwight kept an eye on Nathan's progress just in case his first clean up of the day was scraping Nathan off the floor. The babies had abandoned Duke's lap and toddled off to the toy basket, where they were out of the way of Nathan's unsteady progress. 

Duke stood up at Nathan's approach, but let him pass without interference. Nathan stopped at the doorway, and looked at Duke.

"Yes, you can sleep in my bed. It has clean sheets and everything."

Nathan opened his mouth, glanced back in Dwight's direction, and closed his mouth. He scowled as he walked through the bedroom door. Duke shuffled a few steps toward the bedroom before something like a growl from Nathan sent him back toward the galley. Audrey finally put some pancakes on a plate and sat down to eat.

Dwight left his plate on the table and took over the babies. Both of them giggled and shouted, "Die! Die!" as he carried them to the baby bed. Audrey giggled, in spite of the serious look on her face.


	8. Chapter 8

Duke hadn't retreated from the bedroom door until he'd seen that Nathan was getting settled in. The aggravated 'quit mothering me' noise had told him Nathan should be fine for the moment. His movements were stiff with the protests of his ribs and aching muscles, so he knew he couldn't pretend he was fine. He just hoped Audrey was distracted enough to not notice the bruising peeking from under his shirt. 

He took a pancake and a slice of bacon, because even though he didn't want the food, he knew he needed to get back on his plan. The glass full of meal replacement shake was just a hedge against the next visit with the nutritionist. By the time he had puttered around getting his food—delaying talking to Audrey—and sat down to eat, Audrey was finished and waiting to talk. _Damn_.

Audrey slid a stack of papers across the table. "Hospital instructions on the care and feeding of a concussed Nathan Wuornos," she explained.

Duke nodded.

"He's still dizzy and having fuzzy vision. If it gets worse, or he starts throwing up, call an ambulance."

Duke felt the corners of his mouth quirk up in spite of himself. She sounded so much like Beattie had the night before.

"Are you listening?"

"I know what to look for with a concussion, Audrey. I'm just surprised you trust me to babysit your partner all day."

"Duke, I—"

"Please don't say, 'Duke, I trust you.' I'm pretty sure yesterday made clear what you think of me."

"Duke, what I did yesterday was wrong. I had no right to—"

"You'd do it again."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm just trying to help the Troubled. You know that. Even if it isn't always what is best for me—or those I care about."

"How the hell did trying to force Nathan's blood on me help the Troubled, Audrey? _How_?"

"There was doubt. _I_ doubted. Unconditional trust after what you did, Duke—" She shook her head. "Whatever you believe, I didn't intend to hurt you."

Duke believed her. There were times when Audrey was quite willing to do what she felt had to be done. Sure, afterwards she might feel remorse over the pain it caused those around her. In better times, she even seemed to forget what she was capable of—made everyone else forget, too.

He knew that in the end the good of Haven would always come before his well-being. The real question was could he live with that? Maybe it wasn't the healthiest attitude to have, but he realized he could.

He nodded. "I know."

"I _am_ sorry."

Duke abandoned any pretense of eating. He'd try again without an audience. It was seven, finally. He slid out of the seat. Beattie was usually precisely on time. Dwight had the babies dressed and their bag packed. The big man needed sleep. Duke knew he'd trundle off with Audrey to rescue the town from itself instead. 

Duke opened the door. Beattie stood on the other side, one hand raised as if she had been about to knock.

She slapped his arm playfully. "You did it again. How'd it go?"

"They were wonderful. Bath for Benny. Both slept beautifully. Dwight has them all ready."

"Are you okay, Duke? You look rough."

"It was a rough night—not for the babies, at all. I just didn't sleep good."

She patted his arm, this time in a distinctly motherly fashion. "It'll get better someday."

He gave her a quick one-armed hug. "Thanks, Beattie." Dwight approached with the babies, and Duke eased himself into the background, out of the way. Time to check on Nathan, he supposed.

He gave Audrey a nod. She smiled at him, as he passed through the room into the bedroom. Nathan was asleep on top of the blankets, which wouldn't be so remarkable, except Duke knew he had left them in a heap when he and Dwight had given up on sleeping. 

He retrieved a blanket from the storage cupboard, and spread it over Nathan. Nathan was pale and deathly still. The image from the nightmare, of Nathan dead and cold, his blood long since congealed, flashed through Duke's mind. He turned away, gagging, trying to keep himself from vomiting.

"It smells bad enough in here without you adding to it." 

Duke jumped. Nathan's eyes were still closed. He hadn't moved since Duke walked in. "Dude! Don't scare me like that!"

"If that's all it takes…" Nathan's voice wavered, and he paled. 

"Would it help if I got the dirty laundry out of the room?"

"Yeah."

"Sure."

All the vomit related items were bagged up in the bathroom. Duke honestly couldn't smell anything, but guessed that Nathan was extra sensitive today due to the concussion. Out on the deck, he stowed the stuff discretely. Before going back inside he paused to wave at Beattie as she turned the corner at the end of the pier with the babies in their stroller.

Dwight stopped him in the doorway with a Look. 

"Yes, mom, I'll eat properly today."

Dwight rolled his eyes at him, but said, "You and Audrey?"

"I know where I stand with her, and I can accept that. We'll be okay."

"Call me later, if you need to."

"Thanks. If I need to, I will." A lot of degrees of 'need' existed, and no way was he going to be responsible for keeping the big man awake for a third night in a row.

Dwight squeezed his shoulder and then slid past Duke and headed off for whatever Cleaning he had for the day. 

Laughter drifted from the bedroom as Duke closed the hatch. He smiled. Audrey had a nice laugh, and he'd missed hearing it. She met him about halfway to the exit.

"Nathan's in there trying not to go to sleep."

"What's on the agenda today?"

"For you two, nothing. For me, coordinate with firefighters, keep the town from blowing up, and try to remember that I still have a murder case sitting on my desk."

Duke waved a hand around dismissively, but softened it with a smile. "Oh, is that all?"

Her hand twitched toward him, then clenched into a fist for a moment. "I've—" She sighed and this time held her hand out palm up, inviting but not forcing contact. "I've missed you, Duke."

He looked at her hand and then met her gaze warily. 

"You were my friend, Duke. And I, or at least Audrey Parker, never had many of those. Then you disappeared, and I really thought you were dead."

"I thought you were the one that kept saying I might be...alive."

"Part of me didn't want to face the death of a friend. Part of me was angry. At you. For getting yourself killed. Then all those people, Duke. I interviewed them all. It's been easier to stay angry at you than to deal with the chance that I might have to kill you myself."

Duke took her hand. "Audrey, I know that if you kill me that it'll be because I gave you no choice, and you had to do it to protect Haven." Her face scrunched up. "I know how bad this _legacy_ can be. Somebody has to watch out for Haven." She didn't look any happier. Duke let a small smile show. "I missed my friend, too."

She leaned in, and Duke pulled her into a full hug. After a few moments she pulled back, and Duke let her go.

"I'll be back after five."

Duke nodded, and she left. He checked on Nathan, who was either sleeping or making a good go at pretending to be sleeping. He took his morning pills. Nathan still hadn't moved.

"I'm going to be in there reading. Yell if you need anything," Duke said, just in case Nathan was listening. 

The alarm on his phone woke him up four hours later. He stood up carefully, his ribs protesting. Nathan was awake on the bed looking supremely bored. 

"I'm fine, Duke. Room's not spinning. Everything is more normal."

Duke stood there undecided for a while before he grinned and said, "Do you want to play poker?"

Nathan's expression brightened, and he said, "Yeah. Let's play poker."

Duke took a deck of cards from the nightstand, and motioned for Nathan to scoot over. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Duke dealt the first hand. Nathan picked his cards up and started arranging them. He thought about all the staring Nathan had done the day before. The almost-casual touches and invasions of personal space that were so unusual for Nathan.

He actually had Nathan in his bed for the first time since they were teenagers, and between his ribs and exhaustion and Nathan's…just about everything, they'd be lucky to get through a few hands of cards. Getting naked and _enjoying_ the rest of the day was out of the question.

He rearranged his cards. Was he really going to completely let this opportunity pass him by? He hesitated a few seconds trying to gauge how pissed Audrey would be if Nathan's reaction was to go charging—staggering—off the _Rouge_. 

Duke made sure Nathan was looking at him and smiled suggestively. He'd lost too much time already to waste this chance, whatever the outcome. "Maybe we can play strip poker next time?" 

Nathan's eyes dropped to his hands. Conflicting emotions flickered across his face, and he was silent long enough for Duke to conjure up a dozen ways he'd read Nathan's possible flirting wrong yesterday before Nathan finally looked up and met Duke's eyes. "Yeah, maybe we can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's the end of another story. I am working on the next one. Maybe it will happen faster than this one, but I can't guarantee it. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed the story. And, as always, comments are addictive.


End file.
